Debate turns nasty between Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene

You know a campaign is getting down and dirty when one candidate tells his opponent to quit insulting his mother.

"How dare you attack the character of my mother,'' demanded Kendrick Meek of rival Jeff Greene on Tuesday, in the first debate between the major Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate. "How dare you, Jeff Greene.''

Greene didn't apologize for attacking the Miami congressman for seeking earmarked federal funds from a developer who had hired Meek's mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek. Kendrick Meek denies any wrongdoing and says he didn't know developer Dennis Stackhouse — now facing fraud charges — had given his mother $90,000 and a Cadillac Escalade for consulting work.

"I'm not attacking your mother,'' Greene retorted in the debate that was sponsored by the Palm Beach Post and shown on its website. "I'm attacking you.''